


(UPDATED) My One And Only (Splatoon 2) (Ongoing)

by Piichy_San



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Eventual Smut, Gay, Interracial Relationship, M/M, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29588229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piichy_San/pseuds/Piichy_San
Summary: Lost, afraid and alone, Agent 0819 finds himself underground with the help of Captain Cuttlefish, Pearl and Marina. Making his way through tests to get a chance to live a normal life in the city of Inkopolis Square. But more is added when he encounters a strange figure. He finally felt something other than loneliness.. He felt love and he wants to make this feeling last a lifetime... But the real question is, is this figure real or a figment of his imagination? And more importantly, will this figure feel the same towards this scared Octoling?
Relationships: Inkling(s)/Octoling(s) (Splatoon)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this, I just want to say that I'm in the process of re-writing this story. However, if you don't really want to wait for me to release these chapters again, you can check them out in my Wattpad (User: Satanist_Edgar_69) but it is in a different perspective with the same plot. It might also be a little outdated since I'll probably include some things here and not on my Wattpad. That's all for now and happy reading! -Edgar

On the cold floor of some sort of underground subway lays an Octopus. Scared, confused and cold. Upon waking up, he is greeted by an old man and the frightened Octopus tries to scurry away from this man, nearly falling off of the platform and onto the train tracks of this abandoned subway.

"Ahoy!" The strange old man in a green jumpsuit finally says.

The pink Octopus tries to collect himself but when he speaks, his calm attitude is completely destroyed. "W-Where am I?? Who are you?!" He continues to panic.

"Relax yourself young man!" The old man demands "We won't get anywhere if you don't pull yourself together!" He then taps the Octopus' head with his cane. Still very distraught on the inside, the Octoling tries to keep himself calm on the outside to at least get him out of this.. Strange place "Now, my name is Captain Cuttlefish, pleased to meet you. And we're in.. Well, I have no clue on where we are! How about you? What's your name?" Captain Cuttlefish leans in, interested to know the Octoling's name.

"My name..? I don't know my name."

"What do you mean you don't know? Surely you have a name!" The unnamed Octoling tries to get another word in but is interrupted by Captain Cuttlefish "Never mind that." He helps the Ocotling stand on his feet "We should get you some clothing. It'd be inappropriate to let you walk around in the nude!"

The Octoling looks down at his body and doesn't even bother to cover himself up. He looks a little pale, slightly peach skin if you would. Looking back up at Captain Cuttlefish, he finds him rummaging through a locker to the Octoling's right, pulling out a black uniform for him to wear.

"Now lets see here.." Captain Cuttlefish unfolds the uniform and hands it over to the Octoling "Try this on. That looks like it'll fit you."

Without saying a word, the Octoling puts on the uniform and luckily enough, it did fit him! He, didn't really seem phased by this and Captain Cuttlefish took note of it. They both agreed to try to find a way out of this unsettling place and followed the only tunnel that wasn't covered in police tape. After some long walking and waiting for Captain Cuttlefish to catch up with the Octoling, the two of them found themselves in another train station but this time with a train that seems to be in working order! They had also found themselves talking to a strange talking phone. The Octoling didn't like the gut feeling he got from this phone but if it's his only way of getting out, he'll set that feeling aside for now. According to this phone, the Octoling is supposedly an agent. More specifically an agent named Agent 0819.

At this point, Agent 0819 would take any name. "But why 'Agent'?" 0819 asked himself but that question was short-lived. His goal, according to the phone was to collect four 'thangs' to make it out of this place that is supposedly called the Deep Sea Metro and into a new place which the phone labeled as 'the promised land'.

"But why would we want to go to this said promised land?" 0819 asked.

"To live a normal life, of course!" The phone answers.

"A normal life..?" The pink agent says to himself. He's never wondered about what a normal life would be like but now, it really does make him wonder.. "W-What would this normal life be like?" He then asks the phone.

"[SLANG NOT FOUND] Quit bustin' my chops! Don't you [ERROR] think that you've asked enough questions?" The doors to the subway train suddenly open "Those thangs aren't going to collect themselves, homie!"

"Well, you heard the strange talking phone!" Captain Cuttlefish adds "Into the train cart we go!" He then pushes 0819 inside of the train and next thing you know, the train was making it's way to somewhere. But it looked like it wasn't going to stop until the pink agent picked a destination for it with the device that was given to him along with a card. The thing was.. He didn't know how to use any of these things. He must've spaced off during the explanation so he just took a seat until he figured out what to do with this strange remote. It was all peaceful and quiet, 0819 had no care in the world at the time. That is until the peace and quiet was disrupted by Captain Cuttlefish's yelling. He appears to be speaking into a walkie talkie.

"Agent 15! Come in Agent 15! Can you hear us?" Captain Cuttlefish shouts into his device and it doesn't seem to be affecting 0819. He's just sort of staring at this crazy old man.

After some shouting into the walkie talkie, Captain Cuttlefish finally got a response from a female voice "Yo! Who you calling Agent 15?!" This strange new voice shouts

"What the-? Who is this? I demand to speak to Agent 15!" Captain Cuttlefish yells back into the walkie talkie.

"I'm Pearl! And who the heck are you?" She responds.

"I am Captain Cuttlefish and..-" All of this talking however, isn't interesting to 0819. He did get to meet the so-called celebrities behind the walkie talkie and they even renamed 0819 to just 8 seeing as Agent 0819 or just 0819 was already quite a mouthful. These celebrities are called Pearl and Marina and supposedly they are part of a music group between the two of them called 'Off The Hook'. After they both heard what Captain Cuttlefish and 8 are about to go through, they decided to help both of them. Marina has good knowledge of technology so she was able to offer the most help. Pearl was able to entertain both Captain Cuttlefish and 8 by stating some rap verses and getting into rap battles. But all of this still didn't really mean much to 8. All he wanted to do was leave this place.. As quickly as he wanted to leave this place, all four of them agreed to having some rest before actually making 8 do any tests.

When everyone had woken up the next day, 8 was woken up by Captain Cuttlefish "Ahoy! You ready to do some work?"

"Work...?" 8 rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat up in the same spot that he was in when he first got inside of the train "I thought this train was taking us to the promised land?"

"It is!" Marina speaks into the walkie talkie "But from you've told us, we have to collect four thangs and to achieve that, you'll have to complete tests to make the train go there, remember?"

"Oh. That's right." 8 pulls out his little controller and activates it just like Marina taught him. The only station available to him at the moment was station A05 so that's probably a good place to start. On their way there, 8 and Captain Cuttlefish were greeted by a sea slug named 'C. Q. Cumber' who was on the train the whole time! Since 8 already knew what to do with his device, the CQ-80, C. Q. Cumber informed 8 about other things he needed to know such as his CQ Card and how the tests worked. After all of that, it was off to the real thing.

Upon stepping into this test 8 felt intimidated by these new surroundings and even more scared by the green looking Octolings that chased after him while they constantly shouted 'Seek and destroy." He hated this already.. "I-I don't want to do this..." 8 cried as he shot these evil Octolings with his Octo Shot. When he was done, he felt drained.. He didn't like the idea of hurting others just to get what he wanted. Being motivated by the others didn't help him either but yet he played along to get them all off his back. It looks like the feeling of being scared and confused was starting to fade quickly. It had all turned into.. nothing and that still didn't stop him from not wanting to do the tests but he still had to. Captain Cuttlefish's sake and even his own depended on it. The best he could do was think of the normal life he would get in Inkopolis Square after all of these tests and it helped him quite a lot. Flying through these tests as fast as he could, 8 took a moment to take a close look at something that he had never seen before. More specifically, someone.. He thought it was yet another Octoling or Octarian but this figure had the shape of an Inkling? Sort of like Captain Cuttlefish but younger.

8 tried his best to make up what this shape was but before he could get started on conclusions, it was gone in a blink of his eye "What the-" Were the only words that came out of his mouth and tried his best to push it aside. There's work to be done you silly Octoling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Time skip:** **Around, who knows? The concept of time is meaningless down here.**

"Hey, what's got you so down?" Captain Cuttlefish asks 8 who is sitting in his favorite spot in the whole train. He hasn't bothered to move from that spot ever since he got in the train.

8 looks up from his knees that are up to his chest and stares back at Captain Cuttlefish "Me? Nothing. I'm just bored, I guess." 8 lies to Captain Cuttlefish. He isn't bored. He feels numb. 8 has this huge void inside him and he doesn't think he'll be able to fix it any time soon. But why would he lie to this old man? Well, he simply doesn't feel like talking about it.

"Are you sure?" He then asks 8 again, taking him out of his thoughts "You been looking pretty down lately. You can talk to me about anything, son." Captain Cuttlefish smiles at 8 and he smiles back slightly.

"Thanks but I'm okay. Trust me." 8 replies.

"Don't worry 8! We'll get both of you out there as soon as we can! You are halfway done with collecting the thangs!" Both 8 and Captain Cuttlefish hear Pearl say.

"Pearlie! Don't touch the equipment!" Marina exclaims and then the walkie talkie goes static-y for a bit "Sorry about that.. Anywho.. I'm going to send you the fastest route to the next thang. It's the best Pearl and I can do." Marina says as she pulls up the map for the Deep Sea Metro with a specific route. "Stick to this route and you should get to the next thang in no time!"

"Good luck 8! We're counting on you!" Pearl says before the walkie talkie turns off temporarily.

8 sighs loudly and gets ready for the next test. "Halfway through.. You've got this 8." He says to himself "This test is like any other. These all mean nothing to you now. Just get through it and you'll be free eventually." This stage seems to be 8's favorite. It's filled with trampolines and looking back, it's not his first time on a trampoline. It was nice to be bouncing up and down on them. He even turned into an Octopus just to see how it felt and it did not disappoint.

"8! Watch out!" Marina shouts from 8's walkie talkie.

The shouting alarms 8, causing him to stop what he's doing "Wha-" He then gets shot by a sanitized Octarian, reappearing at the last checkpoint he was at "Sorry..." 8 softly apologizes.

"It's okay sweetie. You seemed like you were having lots of fun" Marina giggles.

He gets back to the task at hand and makes his way to the goal. When 8 bounces on the trampoline to make it to the last platform with the goal on it, he sees that same Inkling figure again. This time he gets a better chance to see what he really looks like. He's looking down at 8 with a smile.

"8. Can you not pull yourself up?" Pearl asks "8?"

8 ignores her and stares back at this figure. He seems taller than 8. His skin tone seems way darker than his as well. Along with that, he also has purple hair put up in a bun. 8 thinks that it's pretty cute.. Upon closer inspection, it looked like he has some thick eyebrows, making it look like he's mad all the time. "H-Hello.." 8 says, a little shy meeting this new person. He on the other hand, says nothing and just walks away from the Octoling.

**"8!"** Captain Cuttlefish, Pearl and Marina all shout at 8.

"H-Huh..?" He shakes his head, snapping out of the Inkling's gaze.

"Geez.. You're starting to scare us. Are you okay?" Pearl asks worriedly.

"Y-Yes. As I stated before. I'm okay. Let me just.." 8 pulls himself up and looks around the platform.

"The goal is up ahead! Get it!" Pearl chants but he's just standing there, looking for the Inkling. Desperately.

"I could feel my hearts skip a beat when I saw him.." 8 feels his chest "But why?"

"What are you talking about?" Marina asks "The goal is up ahead! Get to it and we can talk about this later!" She tries to negotiate with 8 but he doesn't respond.

"8.." Pearl says, starting to get tired of saying his name over and over.

"Right. Sorry." He apologizes, starting to ink the goal and then passing the test. Finally making his way back to the train.

"Something's definitely wrong with this kid." 8 hears Captain Cuttlefish whisper into the walkie talkie after picking the next station for the train and heading back to his seat.

"Yeah.. This dude's acting strange. And I've seen strange." Pearl adds.

"Do you think its depression?" Says Marina.

"Don't be ridiculous Marina. Depression doesn't just happen" 8 hears one of them say.

"Please. Stop talking about it. For the last time, I'm okay." He repeats himself for the third time.

The others suddenly go quiet. By the looks of it 8 feels as if he wants to cry while his body trembles at the thought of the Inkling shape. Putting his knees to his chest, 8 just zones out. "Why do I feel like this.. I want it to stop. All I want is the feeling I get from that Inkling shape. He seems to fill me with joy. Is that too much to ask for?" He thinks to himself as he closes his eyes, deciding to get some rest before reaching the next station/test.

8's eyes start to open and suddenly finds himself inside a bedroom, on a bed on top of someone. They seem to have their arms around the smaller Octoling. He also notices that they both seem to be naked. 8 looks closely at whoever is holding him and it's him again.. That same dark skin, purple hair and cute bun.. He stares at him and he looks back at 8 "What are you looking at." He says to him.

8's face starts to turn red "I.. Uhm.."

He chuckles and pats 8 on the head "I'm just messing with you." He says as he adjusts the blanket that's keeping their bodies warm.

"Am.. I dreaming..?" 8 asks this charming Inkling but he doesn't respond and just gives 8 a kiss on the forehead.

"Go to sleep." The purple one instructs 8 before starting to drift back asleep.

8 however, just looks around. He's extremely confused and wants to learn more about this dream but can't seem to be able to move. The purple one has his arms around 8 tightly. He looks at him again for a good while before waking up again. This time with the old Cuttlefish all up in 8's face.

"Gah!" 8 yelps before falling off the seat he had fallen asleep in "What the hell?!" He says a phrase that he picked up from Pearl. He doesn't know what it means but it seems to fit how he feels right now.

"Watch your mouth mister!" Captain Cuttlefish scolds 8.

He ignores it and then feels his face. It feels really hot. "My face.. It feels warm."

"Oh yeah. It's pretty red too." Captain Cuttlefish informs 8 as he plays with his cane a bit.

"Red..? Why?" 8 ask as he continues to feel his smooth and red face.

"It's called blush. It mostly happens when you are feeling love." Captain Cuttlefish explains to him. 

"Love..? And what's that?" 8 sits back on his seat.

He sighs as he heard him ask that question "Love is something you feel when you.. Hmm.. It's what you feel when you want to be close to someone. Someone that makes you feel happy."

"Now with that out of the way, tell us who you like!" Pearl chimed in. It turns out that she and Marina were listening to their conversation.

"Um.." 8 feels a little ashamed to say who it is.

"Don't be shy, baby. Tell us!" Marina tries to encourage 8 to say who it is.

"Well... To start out.. They're a guy.." He softly states.

"A guy??" Captain Cuttlefish jumps up from his seat. "Oh no no no! That can't be! That is a sin! The Holy Inko Bible is clear about that! Get those thoughts out of your head!" He instructs the pink agent.

"Oh cut him some slack old man. That's in the past!" Pearl scoffs.

"Yeah. Will all due respect, Mr. Cuttlefish, we believe that homosexuality is not a sin. We get that you believe in the Ink gods and how the Inko Bible is key to making it to heaven but forcing religious intent upon others is not good. It's best to let 8 believe in what he believes in" Marina and Pearl defend 8 and he feels relieved. He doesn't think that he would've been able to defend himself from the captain's religious beliefs.

Captain Cuttlefish lets out another defeated sigh and looks at 8. "Guess I should keep up with the times. Well then, tell me about this man you've supposedly fell for."

"Okay.." 8 says, still a little embarrassed. "As you know, he is a man. An Inkling to be exact. His skin tone is dark and his hair is put up in a bun. I think he also has thick eyebrows. Possibly drawn on. When I first saw him before the dream, he looked taller than me. Pretty beefy too.."

Everyone is silent. 8 can feel Pearl and Marina staring at him through the walkie talkie in the same way that Captain Cuttlefish is. Shocked.

"Excuse us for a second.." Captain Cuttlefish says before taking the walkie talkie to the other cart.

8 tilts his head in confusion, heading over to open the door to the next cart slightly to see what all of this was about.

"Are you sure we're hearing this right?" Marina asks.

"Of course! The kid is talking about Agent 15!" Captain Cuttlefish responds.

"Dude.. He's like shella aggressive. There's no way that 15 will go out with him.." Pearl says.

"Let's just call him by his name. 15 is getting a little annoying now." Marina suggests.

"Yeah yeah. We have to make him stay away from Mido at all costs, though. That's what matters." Pearl says as if she didn't care about what Marina said.

"I heard from some folks that he's suffered through some trauma. No one knows exactly what it was though." Captain Cuttlefish adds.

"Mido? Is that his name?" 8 whispers "I.. Love it... I love him.. And he's actually real..? I can't wait to see him, hear him and feel him.." He then feels himself smile for the first time "But what's with aggressiveness they're talking about? Surely we can work that out. Right now.. I'm too much in love to even focus on his flaws..." And just like that. Agent 8 found himself a new way to stay motivated. The man he saw in his dreams turned out to be real! This is the man that his heart needed all along!


	3. Chapter 3

**Time skip: Agent 8 has finally completed the Deep Sea Metro. He and the others are now on their way back to Inkopolis Square.**

There it is, the skyline of Inkopolis.. The same Inkopolis that 8 saved from Commander TarTar and his huge sun-powered statue to sanitize the city. 8 takes a deep breath and admires the pretty sunset. This was definitely going to make him feel better. Or so he thought. "I thought that it was the underground that made me feel lonely. Maybe it was seeing the same faces that gave me the feeling of exploring the outside world and see newer faces.. That wasn't it either. What was it? Why am I not feeling like.. like a normal person?" 8's mind races while it tries to find something to make him feel better but what ever it finds, the slight feeling of happiness almost immediately dies off. He sits down in one of the corners of the inside of the helicopter that's taking Captain Cuttlefish, Pearl, Marina and him back to Inkopolis, watching the others celebrate. "They seem so happy.. Why can't I feel like that.. I guess I'll never know." 8 slowly starts to drift asleep. Sleeping seems to fix this feeling temporarily for him. Maybe he'll be able to see Mido inside of his head again.

Before he actually drifts asleep, Pearl and Marina wake him up "Ahh! 8 baby! You did it! Aren't you proud?" Marina exclaims.

"H-Huh..? Y-Yeah.. I am. Just a little tired." 8 rubs his eyes and looks up at her.

"C'mon dude! Don't you feel like celebrating with us?" Pearl asks me.

"I just want to sleep.. Saving the world is more tiring than I thought.." He replies softly, putting his head down again.

"Y'know. Something about you has been really strange to me lately.." Captain Cuttlefish chimes in.

"And what's that." 8 says, struggling to stay awake.

"Ever since I first saw you in the Deep Sea Metro, you looked so bright and colorful and made an effort to actually show emotion even if it was just terror. Now, you don't feel like making an effort to show emotion whatsoever. Not to mention that you look nearly gray."

"What are you talking about?" Marina asks.

Before Cuttlefish responds, 8 stops him from saying anything "Just stop. Please? I haven't seen sunlight in a really long time. That's probably why." He droopily says.

They just look at me, suddenly just making their own little group, talking about me. Obviously. "I'm worried." He hears one say. "There has to be something we can do about it.." Says the other.

"Mido.." 8 says, thinking that he'd be only one to hear it.

"What was that?" Pearl turns around, then Marina and then Captain Cuttlefish.

"I just want Mido.. When will I see him..?" He looks up at the three of them. "When will I be able to feel and live like a normal person?"

They all look at each other awkwardly. "Sweetie.." Marina steps up to 8 "Mido.. Isn't real.. He's just in your head. Your mind probably made him up to make you feel less lonely." She smiles at him sweetly.

"No. You're lying!" 8 shoots up from his corner. "I heard what you were saying back in the Deep Sea Metro! He is real! You want to keep him away from me!" He clenches his fists angrily. This isn't the first time that he's gotten like this but yet, they all seemed so surprised.

"8.. Calm down. We can prob-" Pearl says and he interrupts her.

"No! I've been feeling extremely lonely and sad down in the Deep Sea Metro and now I can't see the person who's been keeping me going? Are you trying to make me feel even worse?!" 8 can feel himself tear up. This time, the tears are probably going to come out.

"8. It's not because we want to make you feel worse. It's because we want to protect you from him.." Marina gets closer to him. He tries to move her away but she still gets a hold of the shaky Octopus.

"That dude is extremely harmful. He's had a rough past." Pearl adds. "He gets really angry when you least expect it. And when he sees that you are nearby when he's angry, BOOM! You'll become his target."

"When he saved Inkopolis, he almost downright murdered the villain behind it all! Crazy kid. Let me tell you." Captain Cuttlefish explains to 8 "One of my granddaughters had to keep him enclosed for a while after his mission."

"But.. what if.." 8 sniffles. "He just needs the right person to talk it out with..?" With a crack in his voice, he then says "I just.. Want to feel happy.." 8 hugs Marina tightly as his tears start to roll down his cheeks, sobbing and whining right into her shoulder.

Marina hugs 8 back and then, the other two join in. "Maybe I should listen to them.. What if I do get hurt?" 8 questions himself "But I want to give it a shot.. I want to talk to him. I want to know how to make him feel better.."

"There, there baby.. It'll be okay. How's this? When he get to Inkopolis, we'll get you an apartment to get you settled in and we can hang out to get your mind off of all of this?" Marina suggests.

"Are you sure..? What about your celebrity things you have to do? Your music? Your fans seeing you in public?" 8 asks.

"Dude! Don't worry about it! Everyone is pretty chill when they see us in public. We might get a fan here and there but other than that, they respect our personal space." Pearl informs 8 as they all start to undo the hug. "Especially after the incident."

"If that's okay with you then I guess it's okay with me.." He wipes his tears and gets a small sting on his cheeks and wrist, not really knowing what had caused it.

"Great! When we get there, we'll make sure you have a good time." Marina smiles and 8 smiles back.

For the rest of the ride, they all finally relax. 8 tries to get his mind off of Mido by talking with his friends on the helicopter and thinking of what Inkopolis would be like. But all he can think of is Mido and him walking around Inkopolis while they hold hands.. "Sigh.. It'll be okay, 8. Give them a chance to make you feel better."

**Enter: Mido**

In a neighborhood near Inkopolis Square, lives an Inkling. Dark skin, purple hair and eyes, beautiful eyebrows and an even beautiful body. He's practically got it all. A nice house, good looks, a good reputation and even a great turf war team! He's pretty much living the dream. Upon waking up to the sound of his alarm, he already feels irritated, making him want to throw a punch at his wall. This Inkling has always has had a short temper and as much as he doesn't show it, he really does want to talk about the cause of his temper but it always seems to scare people away when he gets too deep into the conversation. Despite having everything he could want, the thing he really wants the most is someone to love romantically. He wakes up everyday in his queen sized bed, expecting someone to be there to tell him 'good morning'.

He sighs, sitting up on his bed and looking out of the window to his left. The young generation of Inklings and Octolings crossing the streets to attend school like they do every other day. Standing up and looking through the blinds, Mido notices that he's still in his boxers. It's a habit that he's had ever since he started to live alone. "I should probably get changed" He the then starts to pick up a smell that leads all the way to his smelly armpit "... and take a shower too." Before actually getting in the shower, Mido does some exercises to get his body going for the day. Just simple jumping jacks, push-ups and sit-ups. He's not a huge fan of these things but it really does help his confidence a lot. When Mido was younger, he was a little chubby and was made fun of for it but that's in the past now and he hates holding onto the past since he has better things to worry about such as the upcoming tournament. He knows that him and his team will win this month's tournament like any other but still, extra training never hurt anybody. Even if it's not for a tournament, Mido always finds himself playing turf war or ranked battles almost everyday.

After his series of exercises, Mido has started to break a slight sweat which always indicates that it's time for him to hop into the shower. He discards the last bit of clothing he has left and dashes to the bathroom to cleanse himself. Now, you might be thinking that Mido is crazy for wanting to get into water since it's lethal to Inklings and Octolings but the liquid used for the bathrooms and any sort of plumbing or anything that requires water has its own type of transparent ink that's pretty much like water so it's completely safe to use. Thank the ink Gods for science. When the warm substance lands on Mido's body, he lets out a relaxed sigh. Showers, along with turf war and sleeping are his best friends aside from his real friends in his team. They're probably the most loyal people he's known.

When hopping out of the shower and being hit by a cold breeze, Mido dries his body off with a towel and heads back into his room in the nude, another hobby he's developed while living alone. He wonders if his partner would mind if he walked around nude. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, our poor Inkling is still a single fellow. Mido brushes off the fact that he's still single and quickly gets dressed, putting on a pair of boxers, drawstring cargo pants, a black shirt from SquidForce and a blue hoodie from Splash Mob, two of his favorite brands. Mido sits on his bed and grabs a cup on his nightstand that's full of makeup pens to um... draw on his eyebrows. The loss of his eyebrows along with two other precious things happened during the same accident that he chooses not to talk about. Drawing on his brows are the least fun part of his day because he doesn't have the patience for it but for the sake of his looks, he has to.

"Just relax yourself. It gets easier the more times you do it." Mido calms himself down and proceeds to sketch out his right brow and then his left brow, putting a slit on the left brow to mix things up for the day. Finally, Mido puts his hair up in a bun just the way he likes it and gets into his blue slip-ons, grabs his Splat Dualies and heads on over to the lobby in the galleria to wait for his teammates and practice for the tournament. He can already taste the sweet victory and it tastes even better with every win.


	4. Chapter 4

**Location: Inkopolis Square**

"Finally! We're home!" Pearl dashes inside of her roomy house after unlocking the door.

Marina walks in after Pearl with 8 right behind her. As for Captain Cuttlefish? They don't really know. All he told the three of them was that he had to get back to his granddaughters soon after arriving at Inkopolis Square. He didn't really drop an address or anything like that but all three of them wish to hear from him soon. "Well, this is Pearl's place." Marina holds 8's hand while showing him the place. "This is all new to you so take as much time as you'd like to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, okay? We'll both be here with you until you can find a place."

"Thank you." 8 looks around at the high-class interior of Pearl's place. "I appreciate it a lot." He then focuses on Marina again.

"Of course! Anything for a friend!" She smiles sweetly at the blank-faced Octoling "Hey, what do you think of joining Pearl and I in a recording session tomorrow in the studio? I have a feeling that you'll love listening to music!"

"Are you sure? I don't want to intervene with your work.."

"It'll be fine!" Marina reassures 8 "We can talk about this tomorrow when we're all ready. We can get you something to eat before we head to bed." She then redirects 8 to the kitchen.

"Sleep? This early??" Pearl quits rummaging through the pantry "I want to watch a movie!"

"Fine. Just one movie. But after that, it's right to bed."

"Heck yeah! Care to join us, 8?" Pearl points over to 8. He doesn't seem phased by it.

"Me? Oh, no I'm okay. I'll probably just have a small snack and head to bed."

"Of course, of course. You want a break. I can show you where the guest room is and we can pick out some sleeping clothes for you!"

With all the small talk, snacking and persuading 8 to watch a movie with them, Pearl and Marina took the tired Octoling to bed inside of the guest room after he had fallen asleep on the couch. In the morning, 8 laid on the bed in the guest room, wanting to get more rest but his body wouldn't let him which he then just resorted to staring at the ceiling. He didn't bother to get up from the comfortable bed and just thought about his dream with Mido, asking himself "When will I experience such a sensation like that again? With the way he made me feel warm and his arms all around me.. I want to be alive for the moment when we actually get to meet in person."

"Hey, 8!" Pearl pops her head inside of the bedroom "You up? We're going to be heading down to the stu!" This sudden intrusion makes 8 step away from his fantasy world

"Huh? Oh." He then gets up from the bed "I'll be right there."

"Kay, cya in a few!" Pearl then leaves the room to give 8 his privacy.

8 sighs and looks at the other bed to the right of his. There lays a pile of neatly folded pair of clothes for 8. They are a multitude of mostly white shirts but there are shirts of other colors too. There are also some legwear, pairs of briefs that they for some reason had but 8 had remembered something that Pearl said "When you get to crash at my crib, we'll make sure to have new clothes ready for you!" Her voice echoes inside of his head. He only took what he needed and changed into it. This Octoling was now ready to take on the day. He felt a little more refreshed now that he was in more comfortable clothing. When all three of them finished eating and whatnot, it was off to the Off The Hook studio and record some music for the day. 8 has only known one song which he constantly finds himself humming quite a lot. It doesn't bother him that he hums the tune at times. What bothers him is that he doesn't know where it's from. It's almost as if.. its tied to some sort of past. It's probably best not to get too much into it. Or at least for now, Marina and Pearl are about to drop some beats.

Surprisingly, 8 found himself enjoying the music very much. Out of all the music he's heard in playing in the radio on his way to Inkopolis, this is the only music that he genuinely liked. It sort of made him think of wanting to make his own music. Maybe on personal experiences? That might be a good place to start. 8 has secretly wanted to write about his experiences. Pearl and Marina quickly picked that idea up when 8 got the chance to try making some music of his own in the studio. In the end, Pearl bought 8 a journal to write about whatever he'd like. 8 treated it more like a diary to talk to himself about what he's gone through. He wrote so much in that book that he practically lost track of time and little did he know, the day was over. Before going to bed, 8 took the time to write about today and even do a little doodle at the bottom of the page. It was of a squid with the most beautiful eyebrows he's seen. Now, it's time for this little Octopus to sleep. Tomorrow is another day closer to finding the right home for him. He'll soon be living in his own space.

**Inkopolis Square Entry No. 1**

_So I've finally made it out of the Deep Sea Metro and I am currently staying at Pearl's house. Today, I got to experience them making their music which I really liked and it also sparked my interest of wanting to make my own music which is why they gave me this notebook. I'll mostly use it to talk about my day and probably look back at it one day to see how much I've changed. Hopefully, I'll get to share this with friends other than Pearl and Marina. Especially with this Mido guy who I can't get my mind off of. And I really don't want to. There is just something about him (despite me never seeing him) that I like. When I first saw him in my dreams, his energy has been keeping me going which is great. Maybe one day I'll stop feeling so grey and will find myself smiling again like when I first found out about Mido being real. The closest I'll ever be to seeing him is in my dreams and possibly this illustration I decided to come up with before writing. I attempted to draw him from_   
_memory._

**2 days later, some time after noon**

It's finally the day. The day for 8 to pick out a home for him to be on his own with the help of Pearl and Marina, of course. 8 isn't the one to use up loads of space so an apartment was definitely the way to go. Pearl and Marina dedicated time to finding open apartment buildings for 8 to pick out which 8 greatly appreciated just like every other thing they've done for him. It was pretty hard to find something close to Inkopolis so their options were very limited. "Alright! This should be the second location" Marina parks her car in the parking lot and everyone looks up at the tall apartment building. The exterior has seen better days and it looks like the love has mostly gone into the interior. The atmosphere feels so relaxing upon entering the lobby. It seemed like 8 would like to be in here.

A man greets all three of them and takes them to an apartment to obviously show off what it has to offer. Upon entering room 307, 8 seems really invested in living here and it surely looks quite better than the first location they went to see **(WRITER'S NOTE: I don't really have the skills to describe the apartment so here's a rough visual of what it'd look like).**

A small dresser here, a couch there.. This would be the perfect place for 8 to live in! It isn't too big nor too small. It's just right for his liking. Thinking of this new home made him think of how Mido and him would share it. Would he like to share a room with 8? A bed? The thought of it just made 8 even more curious by the second.

"How do you like it, dude?" Pearl nudges 8 whilst making their way back to the entrance with Marina.

"It's nice. I think I'll like it here." He then turns to the owner of the building "I'll take it."

"Then it's all yours!" The owner says in glee. Happy that he was able to make someone rent another apartment "I just need you to fill out some paperwork, give it some time and voila!"

"In the meantime, you can continue to stay at Pearl's place while we help you get settled in!" Marina struggles to contain her excitement and gives 8 a hug which causes Pearl to join as well.

8 is startled by this but still plays along. He could practically feel himself get a little better from this movement. After filling out all of the paper work, Pearl and Marina had some time to spare before their next recording session and took that time to give their favorite Octopus a phone. Not just any phone but the latest model of the Squidfone which was pretty expensive. 8 obviously didn't know how to use this thing but Pearl and Marina were there to save the day and he was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly! They both made little contacts for him on his phone so that he can contact them when he pleases. But now, he wonders what will come next after moving into his new home? He'll most definitely ask Pearl and Marina about that.

**1 week after 8 has moved into his apartment**

"I know that you're worried about 8 but I think you're overreacting a little, Marina." Pearl tries to remain calm while trying to remove herself from Marina's grip. She's barely seen Marina get this worried and it's starting to worry her as well.. "And what's with the biscuits?"

"He's barely answered our calls and as his friends, we have to make sure he is okay! And these are a little housewarming gift. Gotta bring something nice." But little did you know, that wasn't her first housewarming gift to 8. It was the potted aloe vera Marina had bought from a plant shop. But she also got him a bed, and another pair of shoes, and another plant... It's actually hard to tell what her first housewarming gift to 8 was since they just kept coming. Getting back on track, she then looks through her pockets until she finds the spare key that she was given when 8 had moved into his apartment. Of course, 8 and Pearl knew about it.

"I thought we'd only use that key in case of emergencies?"

"This is an emergency, Pearlie!" Marina yells at Pearl in a distressed tone. She then tries to put herself together when she sees how upset Pearl looks after that "I'm sorry.. It's just that, I care about this kid. He's been living alone for the past week and taking a look at his nature, he probably needs someone to check in on him."

"Why can't we just let him get close to Mido already? 8 seems really determined to try. We'll be there the whole time and if anything goes wrong, we can just hold him back. Who knows, if something does go right, he'll want to check on 8 regularly like he used to so that we don't have to worry."

Marina puts her left hand on her hip "If he can take a whole team of four by himself, he can definitely take us on." She then unlocks the door and walks inside the lobby with Pearl "I know you're all about taking risks but sometimes, it's all about being careful. Especially when it comes to Mido. And remember what he said to us, we aren't supposed to do anything else unless he says so."

They make their way towards the elevators and it takes the two pop stars to the third floor. Pearl shoots 8 a message and unsurprisingly, she doesn't get a response.

When 8 hears the knocking on his apartment door, he just lets it happen whilst laying on his bed. It's his new safe space. He gets multiple messages from Pearl telling him to open the door since they are outside to see him. 8 feels horrible for ignoring them but he can't prevent this feeling from taking over. When he finally finds the energy to get up, 8 goes to open the door only for him to plainly greet his friends into his apartment "Hello."

"What's happened to you, baby? You barely been in contact with us." Marina asks 8 but she doesn't get any response.

"And why is it so dark in here?" Pearl leans inside of the apartment to turn on the lights only for it to expose 8's even paler skin.. He looked like a tomato after a vampire has sucked the red right out of it.

Marina gasps quietly, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand in shock "Oh my goodness.. It looks like you haven't seen the sun in forever! Have you tried to go outside at all??"

"N-No.." 8 softly replies, upset to hear Marina's tone. She sounds worried, yes but he can feel as if she's mad at him.

"I knew it was a good idea to come here. As soon as you didn't respond to our messages, Pearl and I got worried." Marina hands 8 a basket with a red cloth covering the contents of it. "Here. I- WE-" She quickly corrects herself "Made you these."

Pearl narrows her eyes towards Marina "I heard that."

"Shhhh..." Marina shushes Pearl by placing her right index finger on her lips "This is about him." This causes the two of them to laugh for some reason. 8 doesn't really know why.

8 ignores the laughter and sets the basket on the kitchen counter.

"You know what you need? Shopping! Get you ready for some turf war so you can earn some cash on the side!" Pearl exclaims, getting ready to yank 8 out of his apartment.

"Shopping?" 8 asks "Turf War?"

"Yeah! It shouldn't be that bad." She replies.

"I can probably do the shopping bit I'm not so sure about turf war.."

"That's okay!" Marina gets ready to take 8 out of his room as with Pearl "As long as you get a little time out in the sun."

8 hesitates for a second before agreeing to going out with his friends "Alright. I guess I'll go. Let me get ready." He makes Pearl and Marina let go of them so that he can go get changed. He comes back out of his room with yet another white shirt but with the word "Octo." written on the torso. Along with those he wears a pair of loose shorts with leggings and some black trainers. Pretty basic outfit for a pretty basic Octoling.

"Shopping with Off The Hook! Let's go baby!" Pearl chants in a rhythmic way. Marina lightly claps for 8 after Pearl's chanting and off they went to the galleria! 8 wanted to believe that this shopping trip would help him with wanting to go out but he doubted it. Maybe his negative outlook towards everything is was made everything  
hard for him.

"Maybe some slight positivity wouldn't hurt.." He thinks to himself "If I want to help Mido, I'll need to have a more positive energy for him and for myself."

Arriving at the populated Galleria, all eyes land on Pearl and Marina, the excitement coming from the fans is insane. But just like how 8 was told, the fans contained their excitement which was a little scary to him. He just brushed it off and followed Pearl and Marina to a store dubbed 'Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe'. 8 thought it would be like a normal clothing shop but putting the other shops into the formula, it looked like this was a shirt shop. When they enter this pretty shop, Pearl, Marina and 8 are greeted by the iconic shopkeeper 'Jelfonzo'. 8 thinks that he's pretty adorable. If anything, all of the jellyfish populating the galleria are quite adorable.

"We'll get you anything you want, okay?" Marina advises 8 whilst rubbing his cheek with her hand before walking off to somewhere else in the store with Pearl.

8 then feels his cheek in the same spot that Marina rubbed his cheek and tried to understand this pleasing feeling from it. The only thing that was able to come out of his mouth was a very soft 'wow'. After finally processing this feeling, he just decided to walk around the store to pick something out. People were starting to stare at him as well so maybe it was time to get a move on.

All he really found interesting were more white shirts which are like his comfort clothing but 8 really wishes that he was able to find something else to wear other than just white shirts and just then and there, something caught his eye. It wasn't a white shirt but a black shirt with a purple squid printed right on the torso. He crept right up to it and his eyes sparkled when he finally got a closer look at this shirt. "I love it.." 8 whispers.

Before he lays a finger on the shirt, Jelfonzo walks up to 8 and startles him unintentionally "I see thou art interest'd in this shirt."

"I-I am.." 8 stutters and feels himself smile slightly. He's thinking back to that one time in the underground again.

"Very special if 't be true thee asketh me. T's hath used by many couples."

"What's so special about it?" The pink octopus looks away from the shirt and focuses on Jelfonzo.

"T hast been hath said by the buyers, who is't art mostly couples yond they hath felt coequal closer to each other in some way after wearing this shirt. Some sayeth yond t's the sign of true love." Jelfonzo adjusts his black bowtie and purple hat.

8 looks back at the display table to grab the shirt "Is it just this sh- Huh? Where did it go?" He looks around for the shirt only to find out that someone else had taken it.

"Well, yond's a shame. Thither is this other shirt yond is supposedly its partner-" Jelfonzo reaches out for another shirt with his stretchy tentacles but he can't seem to find it "-but alas, someone hast taken the last one too."

8 can feel the slight happy feeling leave his body "Oh. That's okay. I just wanted to look at it."

"I wonneth't beest letting an unsatisfi'd customer leaveth this store on mine own gaze. Peradventure thither might beest another shirt thee might like? How about the league tee? t very much complements thy ink col'r." Jelfonzo brings out a light pink t-shirt with a pocket on the right side.

"Yeah. I guess I like this one.' 8 takes the shirt from Jelfonzo and tries it on inside the dressing room. When he came out of it, 8 took a look at himself in the mirror and the look and feel of the shirt did start to grow on him. Upon looking at himself more in the mirror, he noticed something that made him question why no one had told him about it. "My eyes. They're different colors?" 8 takes a closer look to make sure that he's seeing it right. His left eye is a sky blue while his right eye is more of a forest green "I didn't think that could happen to someone.."

"You ready to go?" Pearl interrupts 8 while he looks at himself in the mirror.

"Did you know that I have different colored eyes?" He looks at Pearl, not answering her question.

Pearl chuckles nervously "Yeah? I knew."

"How come you didn't tell me?"

"I don't know, we just thought you knew? When we took our picture on our way to Inkopolis? You didn't see your eye color on the screen?"

"I thought it was a problem with the lighting!" He looks back into the mirror "I think I like it.."

"It does look good on you! It makes you stand out from the crowd"

Jelfonzo then taps 8 on his shoulder again "So about the shirts, art thee going to beest taking those folk with thee?"

8 turns to the fancy speaking jellyfish "Oh, yeah. I'll definitely be taking these. I think I'll keep this one on."

"Yond's nay problem. I'll just scan this one." The fancy jellyfish grabs a barcode scanner, scans the shirt and removes the tag from it "And taketh these to the cash register." He then uses his tentacles to take the rest of the white shirts to the register, putting them in bags.

"Those shirts look a little plain, don't they?" Marina fixes her hair to make sure it still has its shine.

"T's not about how a shirt looks. T's about how t maketh one feeleth." He tells Marina "Anon if 't be true thee'll colours me, i has't some business to attend to. I'll beest waiting f'r thy payment at the register." He says his goodbye's and gets back to work.

Marina barely has any clue what he said to her "How do you know what he's saying?" She asks 8.

"It's Old Inklish. It can be a little hard to understand but somehow, I just have some knowledge about it. You don't know any Old Inklish?"

"Of course not! We just speak mordern Inklish!"

"I guess that's fair. We should probably hurry up and pay. I want to see what they have in the next store" 8 heads on over to the cash register to wait for Pearl and  
Marina.

"See? It looks like this shopping trip is helping him after all!" Marina whispers to Pearl.

"I've gotta admit, he sure does have a better attitude than when we saw him at his apartment." Pearl whispers back.

Everything was eventually settled and paid for. 8 got something other than a blank shirt, Pearl was finally able to afford another pretty expensive shirt and Marina? Well.. She had to pay for it all. Next up was a store titled 'Headspace'. Now this store has a completely different feel than Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe. Headspace felt more like an antiques shop than a hat shop but upon seeing the shopkeeper, Flow, it made sense to 8 why the store looked the way it did. Flow is a calm sea slug and so she created a calm environment for her and her shrimp that lives on her head who is also known as Craymond. Like the previous shop, 8, Pearl and Marina looked around the store. 8 did have a bit of a hard time looking for something but it didn't take as long. He eventually found a hairclip that was in the shape of an 'S' along with a pair of eyes that looked really nice. But he wondered why it was so expensive?

"Excuse me?" 8 calls for Flow "How come this item is so expensive and inside of this really protective display?"

"You see.." Flow makes her way towards 8 "This accessory is part of our Amiibo collection. You can get this one by the Amiibo box outside. But we know that not everyone can afford Amiibos so we put it for sale here. At a higher price than the other things here though. Are you still interested in it?"

"Amiibo?" 8 asks and is then startled by Craymond.

"You'll buy it! Buy it now!" 8 chuckles at his cute little voice and is convinced by this small shrimp so he asks Pearl to buy it for him.

"Seems a little pricey. But my dad won't mind." She says as she pulls out her card.

"Wait! Won't you talk with him first?" Marina stops Pearl.

"Why? His bank account is like 10 football fields big. He won't care." Pearl responds to Marina as she pays for the hairpin.

Flow removes it from the display and gives it to 8 after Pearl pays for it. "Here you go sweetie. Have a nice day!" She smiles as Craymond squeaks out "You'll be back!" They all laugh and head out while Flow waves goodbye to them.

"So where to next?" 8 asks, eyeballing the shoe shop while putting the cute hairpin in his hair.

"Ammo Knights" Pearl responds "It's the weapon shop just in case you want to go against other people in turf war matches"

"You don't seem like someone who would be on the battlefield. No offense. But we'll still give it a try" Marina says.

"No, you're right. That battle against Commander TarTar just wasn't my thing. I felt extremely anxious but I still had to do it. Though, the turf war here will be more simple so I might be able to get used to it more." All of this turf war talk is making 8 wonder if Mido likes turf war. With someone with that type of body he most definitely likes to play such an intense game like that.. Entering the third and final shop of the day, a humanoid horseshoe crab known as Sheldon pops from behind his counter, greeting his customers. Pearl and Marina don't really look around in this store and leave it up to 8 to find his weapon of choice. "Do you have anything.. Simple?" He asks, a little overwhelmed by the choice of weaponry.

"Simple??" Sheldon responds, sounding offended "All of these weapons were made with the most complex technology! How about I give you a catalog so see if you can find what you're looking for?"

"Yes please" 8 nods. The liveliness in his voice sends chills down his spine.. He's never heard himself sound like that. As 8 looks through the catalog, he can't find himself interested in the weapons at all. Mostly because they are aim based and 8 doesn't have good aim. Reaching the near end of the catalog, a weapon catches 8's eye. The Inkbrush Nouveau. "How about this one?"

"Ah, the Inkbrush Nouveau. A fine weapon." Sheldon smiles and he gets an inkbrush nouveau off of the wall display, handing it to 8 before he starts to nerd out about the weapon. He talked a LOT which almost made 8 fall asleep through the description. Pearl and Marina sigh and just take 8 to the testing arena to save some time.

"So how do I do this again? I haven't touched one of these in a while." 8 looks back at Pearl and Marina who are inside of the building looking at 8 through a window.

"Well, you can swing it side to side and splat ink everywhere or you can just run with it while you run the bristles across the floor, making a trail of ink. Make sure to submerge in your ink to reload your ink!" Marina speaks through a mic and gives 8 a brief explanation on how to use the Inkbrush.

He does as she says and immediately has fun with it. 8 splats the balloon dummies and runs around with his brush, inking all over the place. He laughs and does this for some time. This is really fun for him and with the fact that he doesn't have a certain objective or a time limit makes him more care-free. "I should do this more often!" 8 exclaims and after a bit of messing around, he comes up with an idea. He resets the arena and gets to work. "It's gonna look so great.. I just know it."

"What's this dude doing?" Pearl asks Marina.

"I'm just as clueless as you are." She responds as they both watch 8 paint.

After a bit of waiting, 8 calls for them and they look up from their phones, staring at a doodle of Mido's head that 8 with his brush. It looks a little rough around the edges but it still looks identifiable "What do you think?" He asks for their feedback with a smile on his face.

"It looks great!" Pearl speaks through the mic "Don't you think so, Marina?"

Marina looks a little hesitant over the drawing 8 made of his crush "For sure! I love the cartoony look!" She takes a picture of his drawing on her phone and gives 8 a thumbs up. He giggles and starts to head out of the testing area and back inside of the building with them.

8 places the Inkbrush down on the counter carefully "I'll take this one" 8 says as Sheldon scans his weapon. Just about as all three of them were about to leave, 8's ear twitches when he hears someone slam their fists on the counter. He flinches and suddenly, Sheldon's attention is immediately shifted towards this other person.

"My most valued customer! What can I do for you?" Sheldon says enthusiastically.

"Your stupid Dualies keep breaking. Don't you have something that can handle my grip?" A deep and somewhat angry voice states. A very.. familiar, deep and somewhat angry voice..

8 quickly turns to see who it is and immediately recognizes the person.. His eyes shine as he stares at this figure. "He's real.." 8 can't believe it. "He is right in front of me.." he tries to reach out for him but the Inkling notices this action. 8 immediately tenses up, standing up straight, his hands are on the sides of his body and faces the counter, trying not to make eye contact with him. 8's face is completely red.. "Heart rates are going up by a lot. I feel overwhelmed by him..." He says in a very soft tone. The tall Inkling raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, turning back to Sheldon. He then goes outside into the testing arena when everything is set for him. 8 rushes to the window in the blink of an eye to see him test his weapon. "Look at him.. He's even better in person.." 8 smiles and puts his hand to his chest while his hearts skip a beat that he's never felt before. "Who knew that love could feel so good?" While daydreaming about this.. angel sent from heaven, Marina pulls 8 away from the window with help from Pearl.

"Alright Mr. Lovey Dovey. Let's go." Pearl pushes him out of the store and into the galleria.

"Go? Go where? Mido is right there! I want to see him practice!" 8 tries his best to get away from Pearl and Marina and rush back into the shop looking out the window of the testing area.

"Oh boy.." Marina sighs "This is what I worried about.."

"Yikes. That dude really loves him huh. How about we just make him eat? It might get him off of what drug that kid is on."

"Good idea." Marina walks back into the store nervously and taps 8's shoulder "Hey, 8? How about we go grab a bite to eat? Pearl wants to show you this place that she thinks you'll like" She turns him around in hopes of snapping him out of this curse I guess you could call it that.

"Food?" 8 blinks at Marina and then looks back at the window. Before sticking himself back to the window, 8 feels his stomach growl "I.. Guess I could eat." 8 says before Marina holds his hand and takes him to a nearby food truck. "I've seen this truck before! It was in a magazine about Inkopolis!"

"Well, now you'll be able to try it!" Pearl says and turns to Crusty Sean, the owner of the food truck.

"Look who it is! How's it going P?" Crusty Sean greets Pearl.

"Y'know, same old thing. Actually, I've got a new friend with me today. Check it! Yo 8! C'mere!" Pearl calls for 8.

8 walks towards Pearl slowly, feeling shy "Hello.." He softly greets.

Crusty Sean waves his multiple arms at 8 "Sup! What's your name again?"

Before 8 is able to expose his agent name, Pearl speaks for him. "About that.. This dude doesn't have a name." She smiles awkwardly.

"Doesn't have a name huh." Crusty Sean crosses his arms and examines 8, though it looks like he's trying to think back to something rather than looking at this timid octopus "Octavio fits this dude best. No refunds." He laughs. Pearl laughs. Marina laughs and 8 laughs too, not really getting the joke.

"I thought we were eating. Not paying to give me a name?" 8 leans towards Marina.

"It's a joke. It's a little hard to explain." Marina whispers back.

8 just stands there and lets his laughter die down with the others "I do like the name. Octavio.. I feel like I've heard it before." But no matter how many times he tells himself the name it still doesn't ring a bell.

Crusty Sean pulls out a menu for his customers to see "Anyway, what will it be?"

"You know me! I'll have the Triple-Fried Galactic Shwaffle!" Pearl exclaims.

"Pearlie.. Your diet." Marina crosses her arms.

"But you said that today can be my cheat day!" Pearl whines.

Marina sighs "Of course I did.. Go ahead then."

"Yes! How about you Octavio? What would you like?" Pearl turns to the octopus whose new name is now Octavio. He seems a little spaced out like an old, static-y TV. "Yo! 'Tavio!" She calls out for him again until he finally figures out that 'Octavio' is in fact his name now.

"Huh? Oh, that's me. I'm sorry, I need to get used to this new name." Octavio tries to piece together the situation and finally answers the question "I guess I'll have the Crusty Seanwich."

"Alright! Coming right up!" Crusty Sean says as he revives the tickets from Pearl. The small group of friends picks out a table and sits down at said table.

Octavio decides to start a conversation and says "Do you think Mido-" However, Pearl stops him right there.

"You really like to talk about him a lot. We need to get your mind off of that guy." Pearl says with her elbow on the table and her chin on the palm of her hand.

"But.. He's the only thing I want to talk about.." Octavio frowns.

"But it'll get boring after a while. How about we get you a job? How good are you at taking orders?"

"Well.. I guess I'm pretty good at it."

"Well that's just great!" Marina lights up "There's a cafe right next to the lobby and they're always looking for new members!"

"A cafe? I guess being a waiter/cook wouldn't hurt. It'll make me more active."

"And you'll be able to earn some cash to pay off your apartment!"

"I'll look into it then. If it'll help with my necessities and my obsession." Octavio admits as Crusty Sean serves their food. Pearl starts to eat immediately and Octavio waits until his food cools down. When he gets the chance to eat, he scarfs down his food and rushes back into Ammo Knights to observe his one and only.

"8!- I mean, Octavio! Come back!" Marina gets up from her seat but Pearl holds her back.

"How about you let the dude see him for a bit? He's literally the only thing that makes him happy. I get that Mido told us to-"

Marina then shushes Pearl "I know what he told us. You don't have to remind me. Just keep quiet, he's coming back." She gets back to her seat. When she gets a good look at Octavio, she notices the defeated look on his face "What happened to you?" She asks, feeling a little worried.

"He's gone.." Octavio sits back in his seat again, feeling like he did when he woke up this morning. It's like the feeling of happiness and sadness are constantly taking turns controlling Octavio.

"Awh.. Maybe you'll see him next time.." Marina rubs Octavio's back and then sees Sheldon running up to them.

"Excuse me!" Someone calls out, this catches Octavio's attention and he turns towards the voice, hoping that it'd be the love of his life. But, of course, not all wishes come true. It turned out to be Sheldon returning the inkbrush back to Octavio "You left this at the store!" He hands the Inkbrush to Octavio. Guess he was too distracted by Mido to focus on his own weapon.

"Thanks." Octavio responds quietly and watches Sheldon dash back to his store. Suddenly, It feels as if time is flying by. Octavio is not paying any attention to anything that is going on at all. He's back to not caring about anything around him either. Time, feeling, living. Everything had lost meaning. This is getting worse for him. "Maybe they are right. I really need to work out this obsession. What if all of this just get's even more unhealthy? But there has to be a reason as to why I'm feeling like this towards this specific Inkling. This force is trying to bring us together, but why?" Octavio rambles inside his head to connect points but also because talking to himself seems to bring some sort of comfort to him.

Then, something shakes Octavio out of his internal rambling "Octavio.. look.." Marina calls out for him "You there?" She then waves her hands in front of his eyes.

Octavio shakes his head and looks around his environment, really confused. "When did I get here?" He asks before looking ahead of him, his eyes lighting up when they see a dark skin Inkling "Is that..?" Octavio gasps

"Mhm! We'd thought that you'd like to see him play turf war! You seemed so sad when you found out that he was gone.."

"Now sit back and watch the show!" Pearl says as she sits on the ground with Marina.

Octavio doesn't sit down and gets closer to the fence that is separating him from Mido and just watches him play "So he really does like turf war.. He's so good at it!"

Mido looks so focused and so serious. Octavio wonders what's going on in his head when he plays, his eyes locked onto him as if Mido were a target. He then watches him take a breather to hide from his opponents. As Octavio has his eyes locked onto Mido, he's quietly cheering for him. Mido is really close to where Octavio is so he's hoping that he hears these quiet and encouraging chants. Mido could probably feel Octavio looking at him because he looked back at this lively, pink Octopus. Octavio blushes deeply and waves slowly at him. At first, Mido looks like he couldn't believe his eyes for a second, seeming a little happy to see Octavio afterwards. With his weapon in his hand, he waves back with a smile.. It was the most charming smile Octavio has ever seen.. He immediately lights up and smiles back at him. Mido continues to look at Octavio and he is completely distracted from the game, causing himto get shot by an opponent. Octavio watches his little ghost leave the purple ink puddle he's made when being shot at.

Octavio gasps worriedly "Is.. He going to be okay..?" He looks at Pearl and she doesn't seem phased by it.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah. There are respawn points nearby so if they get hurt badly, they'll respawn back there. It's kinda like when you failed a mission in the Deep Sea Metro, remember?" Pearl responds.

"There is nothing to worry about baby." Marina adds

"Being exploded for failing a mission gives me bad memories.. But thank the Ink gods he's okay.." He sighs out of relief and continues to watch Mido. He's back at the spot he was shot at and he looks at Octavio with an angry look "Sorry.." The pink one mouths. Mido narrows his eyes at him and gets back to playing. "I didn't mean to distract you..." Octavio sits down in between Pearl and Marina and watches Mido play for the rest of the match quietly. He seems a little disappointed in himself,

Meanwhile, Pearl turns to Marina, she seems way into Mido playing. Pearl doesn't like that. "Maybe she's been keeping him away from Mido for her own reasons." She thinks. Pearl can get jealous really easily and Marina is fully aware of this, though Marina doesn't look like she's going to reassure Pearl that she isn't getting into Mido. "You're letting your jealousy get in the way. We haven't seen a turf war match in ages, she's probably thinking of the times we had together when we played turf war. Those were good times.."

Octavio breaks his focus from Mido and turns over to Pearl who is back to looking at the match that's going on. He could feel a negative energy coming from her. He wants to ask her if she's okay but he also gets the feeling that she doesn't want to be bothered.

"We've been watching Mido play for a while now. I think we should start to head home." Pearl informs Marina and Octavio after numerous amounts of turf war matches.

"Yeah. I guess Pearl is right." Marina gets up from the ground and wipes off her pants "You ready to go, Octavio?" Pearl and Marina look at Octavio and he's still glued to the game.

"YO!" Pearl shouts which scares Octavio but it causes someone to shout back at her.

"HEY! We're trying to concentrate here!"

"Oh they're about to get it, 'Rina hold me back." Pearl cracks her knuckles and begins to stomp her way to where the voice came from.

Marina doesn't respond, she's looking at someone play. It's not until Pearl calls her name that causes her to focus "What was that?"

Pearl's eager smirk turns into a slight frown "Nevermind." She sighs "Let's just go."

Octavio wonders as to why Pearl looks so defeated and why Marina is so.. distracted. He'll just brush it off for now. This seems like a one time thing. "Yeah, I think we should just go." He holds Pearl and Marina's hands and then connects them to each other like a plug and an outlet. Suddenly, it's almost as if their nice spark is back online. Octavio feels good about being able to help Pearl and Marina re-connect. He still wonders what's making them drift away..

On their way back to Octavio's apartment, he talks about what he learned from Mido while the sky starts to turn an autumn orange. Pearl and Marina seem to be very supportive about him talking about Mido this time. What really made them happy is when they heard the word 'encouraged' come out of Octavio's mouth. It's the first time that they hear him say this word. He talked about how he felt encouraged to try out turf war some time with the two of them. Pearl and Marina are obviously excited to play with Octavio when they all get the chance.

When they get there, it was finally time to say good-bye to his friends and spend more time another day. "Stay safe, okay sweetie?" Marina hugs Octavio tightly.

"And remember to look into the job. You'll like it there, dude!" Pearl chimes in.

"I will. Thank you for making it a good day for me." Octavio smiles softly and they smile back at this content Octoling. He watches them leave and then goes inside the apartment building when they are out of sight. On my way to his room, he's looking at his phone, searching for the job that Pearl recommended to him. It looks like he can start an interview tomorrow afternoon! He might have some time to stop by the Galleria to get a formal shirt. "This is all happening so quickly.. But it's to help me stay on my feet so I'll take it. If they accepted your request, it's because they're excited to have new members. Marina said that they're always looking for someone  
new."

**Inkopolis Square Entry No. 8**

_Today was a very different day than what I'm used to having. I had gone out for the first time in a while and I actually had a good time hanging out with Off The Hook._ _They got me new clothing, a new headpiece and even a weapon to use during turf war matches. I was able to look at myself in a mirror for the first time. I never noticed how I actually looked like. It'll have to grow on me because, I don't l really like how I look. On some good news, I was able to see Mido up close! He looks a little different than_ _my drawing though. He smiled way less, looked more serious and I had completely forgotten that his bun isn't just attached to his head. I missed a whole hair tie. I should've thought a little more on this_ _drawing but I just couldn't waste another second staring at a blank paper. Tomorrow is the day of my interview for my new job. I should probably research what type of_ _questions I'll be asked. I'm not currently feeling it but if I were to feel anything at this moment, it'd definitely be anxiety. The person on the phone sounded really_ _nice so maybe it won't be so bad?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry that this chapter took so long to release! School has been getting in the way a lot but also because I've been trying to come up with visuals for this chapter! What do you think of them? There is a third visual I wanted to work on but I didn't want to keep anyone waiting any longer. It should be done very quickly though! Looking at the next chapter and it shouldn't take as long to write


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